Al Qaeda warns Myanmar of ‘punishment’ over Rohingya

YANGON: Al Qaeda militants have called for support for Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims, who are facing a security crackdown that has sent about 400,000 of them fleeing to Bangladesh, warning that Myanmar would face "punishment" for its "crimes".

The exodus of Muslim refugees from Buddhist-majority Myanmar was sparked by a fierce security force response to a series of Rohingya militant attacks on police and army posts in the country's west on Aug. 25.

The Islamist group behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the Untied States issued a statement urging Muslims around the world to support their fellow Muslims in Myanmar with aid, weapons and "military support". "The savage treatment meted out to our Muslim brothers ... shall not pass without punishment," al Qaeda said in a statement, according to the SITE monitoring group.

"The government of Myanmar shall be made to taste what our Muslim brothers have tasted."